KAPRALOVA SOCIETY

vitezslava kapralova: an annotated life chronology (part 1)
by karla hartl

1915

January 24, Sunday, 6:00 p.m. - Vitezslava Kapralova is born in Brno,¹ daughter of the composer and teacher Vaclav Kapral (1889-1947) and singer Viktorie Kapralova, nee Uhlirova (1890-1973).²
June - Kapral is conscripted into the army and stationed in Albania during World War I.
Viktorie Kapralova moves with Vitezslava to her parents' house in Medlanky.³

1916
Vitezslava stays with her mother and grandparents in Medlanky.

1917
Vitezslava stays with her mother and grandparents in Medlanky.

1918
November - Kapral returns from the war.

1919
Kapral continues his studies in composition with Vitezslav Novak in Prague, while furthering his piano studies under Adolf Miks. His wife Viktorie takes voice lessons with Kristina Morfova, soloist of the National Theatre in Prague.
Music historian and critic Vladimir Helfert moves from Prague to Brno. He is to become a leading personality of Brno's academic and cultural life and will play an important role in promoting the music of Kapral and Kapralova.

1920
Vitezslava is given her first piano lessons by her mother.⁴
Viktorie Kapralova passes a state examination to become a certified voice teacher.⁵
Vaclav Kapral meets 17-year-old Otylka Humlova, a singer in the choir he conducts. She is to become his life-long companion and inspiration for his music.⁶

1921
September 1 - Vitezslava enters the Elementary School at Slovanske namesti, in the Brno suburb of Kralovo Pole.
1922
Vaclav Kapral and his friend Ludvik Kundera are instrumental in founding the Moravian Composers' Club in Brno.⁷
1923
Spring - Vaclav Kapral departs to study piano interpretation with Alfred Cortot at L'Ecole normale de musique in Paris. During his stay there he meets Bohuslav Martinu.
Viktorie Kapralova and Vaclav Kapral decide to separate but agree on joint custody of small Vitezslava.

1924
Vaclav Kapral's second study stay in Paris.
Vitezslava spends part of the year at the sanatorium "Safarik" in Stary Smokovec, Slovakia.⁸
October 5 - Vitezslava's first serious attempt at composition - V risi baji / In the Realm of Myths [from: Some of My Very First Compositions].
November 27 - Valka / War [Some of My Very First Compositions].

1925
January 1 - V myslenkach / Lost in Thoughts [Some of My Very First Compositions]
January 5 - Pristav / Harbour [Some of My Very First Compositions]
May 22 - Touha / Longing [Some of My Very First Compositions]
September 1 - Po bitve belohorske / After the Battle of the White Mountain [Some of My Very First Compositions]. Dedicated to President T.G. Masaryk.
November 14 - Na dalekou cestu / Before the Long Journey [Some of My Very First Compositions]. Dedicated to her parents as a farewell present before leaving for Smokovec, Slovakia.
Second prolonged stay at the sanatorium in Smokovec, Slovakia.
Before the Long Journey is published in Hudebni Besidka by Oldrich Pazdirek in Brno.

1926
January 20 - Office of the President of the Czechoslovak Republic thank Vitezslava for dedicating her composition After the Battle of the White Mountain to T.G. Masaryk.⁹
Stay in Smokovec, Slovakia.
1927
September 1 - Vitezslava starts attending junior high school.
Valse Triste [Some of My Very First Compositions], dedicated to Prof. Vladimir Helfert.

1928
Summer - Vitezslava and her mother spend vacation together in Novi near Adriatic Sea.
August 12 - Leos Janacek dies.
November 3 - Maticce / To Mother for children's choir [Some of My Very First Compositions].

1929
April 7 - Piano Sketch [Sketch Book]
1930
September 1 - Kapralova enrolls in the composition and conducting class at the Brno Conservatory, against the wishes of her father ¹⁰ but encouraged by her mother. She will study harmony with Max Koblizek and Jaroslav Kvapil, piano with Anna Holubova, accompaniment with Jaroslav Usak, ear training and choir conducting with Vilem Steinman, composition with Vilem Petrzelka, orchestral conducting with Zdenek Chalabala, instrumentation with Osvald Chlubna, music history with Gracian Cernusak, and aesthetics with Ludvik Kundera. Her classmates will include Otto Lustig, Hanus Weigl, Milos Sokola, Frantisek Vrana, and Ota Vach, who is to become her life-long friend.¹¹
November 7 - Prvni prace ze skoly / First School Works
1931
February - Kapralova starts composing Pet klavirnich skladeb / Five Compositions For Piano, op. 1.
Kapralova visits the village of Tri Studne. She falls in love with the landscape, and persuades her parents to build a summer house there.
1932
January - Kapralova composes Tempo di marcia funebre, the last of the Five Compositions for Piano. It would later become Funeral March, op. 2.
Spring - Kapralova composes her first piece for violin and piano, entitled Nalada / Mood. She later changes the title to Legenda / Legend, op. 3a.
April 18 - Five Compositions for Piano are premiered in Brno by Milada Blahova, Kapralova's classmate from the Conservatory.
Burlesque,op. 3b for violin and piano, dedicated to Dr. Magda Kühnova, a friend of Kapralova's family.
Summer - Kapralova's stay in Smrdaky spa.
July - Osirely / Orphaned [Two Songs, op. 4]
August - Jitro / Morning [Two Songs, op. 4]
Vitezslava composes Jiskry z popele / Sparks from Ashes, op. 5. She dedicates the songs to Ota Vach.¹²
1933
February 20 - Brno Publisher Oldrich Pazdirek confirms his interest in publishing Burlesque, op. 3b.¹³
March - Kapralova composes her remarkable art song Leden / January for voice and voice, piano, flute, two violins and violoncello.
May 9 - Burlesque and Legend are premiered in Brno by violinist Jan Lorenc and pianist Frantisek Jilek, Kapralova's classmates from the Conservatory.
May 11 - The violin and piano pieces are praised by Gracian Cernusak in Lidove noviny. Another reviewer, signed by initials "-sf-," praises the works in Narodni noviny.
May 16 - The pieces receive another favourable review (signed by initials "-ek") in Ceske slovo.
Burlesque is published by Pazdirek in Brno.
June - Sonata appassionata, op. 6, for piano
December 5 - Two Songs are premiered by Kapralova's classmates Milada Musilova and Frantisek Vrana at the Brno Conservatory.
1934
June 1 - Sonata appassionata is premiered by Frantisek Jilek in Brno.
June 3 - Gracian Cernusak praises the sonata in his review for Lidove noviny.
June 5 - Other highly favourable reviews of the sonata are printed in Venkov, Moravske noviny, and Narodni noviny.
June 6 - Another review of the June 1 performance is published in Narodni listy.
June 8 - A final review of the performance appears in Ceske slovo.
Summer - The house in Tri Studne is finished.
September - Theodor Schaefer joins the staff of Kapral's private music school - he is to become Kapralova's tutor in orchestration and one of her close friends.
Kapralova begins composing Piano Concerto in D Minor.
1935
April - Kapralova meets Rudolf Firkusny at his concert in Brno where he performs Martinu's Second Piano Concerto. The work, particularly its second movement, makes a deep impression on her.
June 17 - First movement of Kapralova's Piano Concerto in D Minor is premiered by the Conservatory Orchestra under the baton of Kapralova, with Ludvik Kundera as soloist, at the Brno Conservatory graduates concert at Stadion Hall in Brno.
June 18 - The work and Kapralova's performance are praised in Moravske noviny.
June 20 - Kapralova's concerto receives accolades from Gracian Cernusak in Lidove noviny and rave reviews in Moravske slovo and Prager Tagblatt.
June 28 - Kapralova graduates from the Brno Conservatory with the Frantisek Neumann Award¹⁴ for the best graduate composition.
July? - Kapralova orchestrates four of her Five Compositions for Piano as Suite en miniature for chamber orchestra.
Summer - Kapralova stays in Tri Studne where she begins to compose her String Quartet, op. 8.
September 30 - Kapralova leaves for Prague, accompanied by her father, to study at the Prague Conservatory.¹⁵
October 2 - Kapralova is accepted in the masterclasses of Vitezslav Novak, a pupil of Antonin Dvorak and one of the foremost Czech composers of the period, and Vaclav Talich, the celebrated Czech conductor.
October - Kapral is appointed professor of composition at the Brno Conservatory.
October 8 - piano miniatures Dve kyticky / Two Bouquets of Flowers
October - Kapralova's first assignment given by Novak is to compose a passacaglia. After an initial struggle with the form (and Novak) she solves the musical problem with her usual wit and humour and the result is Grotesque Passacaglia [from Tri kusy pro klavir / Three Pieces for Piano, op. 9]. She dedicates the work to Vladimir Helfert.
November - Kapralova finishes the second version of Grotesque Passacaglia and submits it for a competition announced by Tempo,¹⁶ while she continues working on its third version for the ever demanding Novak.
November 12 - Kapralova joins the Pritomnost Society in Prague.¹⁷
November - Kapralova begins composing Preludium [Three Pieces for Piano, op. 9].
December 4 - HMUB informs Kapralova that her Grotesque Passacaglia placed first in the Tempo competition among 24 compositions submitted.
December - Kapralova finishes orchestration of her Suite en miniature.
December - Kapralova begins composing Crab Canon [Three Pieces for Piano, op. 9].
December 26 - Kapralova spends her winter holidays in Tri Studne.
1936
January 31 - Kapralova graduates from the masterclass of Vaclav Talich.
February 7 - Suite en miniature is given its first performance in Brno by the Brno Radiojournal Ensemble conducted by Theodor Schaefer.
February 11 - Suite en miniature is praised by Otakar Sourek in his review for Venkov.
February - Kapralova spends another short vacation in Tri Studne.
February 16 - first sketch of Vezdicka / Little Star [Two choruses for female voices, op. 17]
February 20 - Second movement of string quartet
February 27 - Jaro na polonine / Spring on the Meadows
March 25 - Kapralova finishes her String Quartet, op. 8¹⁸
April - Kapralova composes Ukolebavka / Lullaby [Apple from the Lap, op. 10] and consults with Novak about the composition.
April 20 - Pisnicka / Little Song, for piano solo
May 28 - Kapralova passes a state examination for piano teacher certification.
May 29 - Kapralova sketches the theme to her Vojenska symfonieta / Military Sinfonietta, op. 11.
June 8 - Kapralova leaves for a sanatorium in Jince.¹⁹
Summer? - Grotesque Passacaglia is published in Tempo.
September 8 - final version of Lullaby [Apple from the Lap]
September 26 - Jarni pout / Spring Fair [Apple from the Lap]
October 5 - String Quartet is premiered by the Moravian Quartet in Brno.
October 8 - String Quartet is praised by Sourek in Venkov. Another favourable review, signed by initials "-h.p.-," is printed in Narodni noviny.
October 15 - Kapralova conducts the Brno Radio Orchestra in a premiere broadcast of her Piano Concerto in D Minor, op. 7.²⁰
October 21 - Another review of the premiere of Kapralova's String Quartet is published in Tempo.
October 23 - Three Pieces for Piano are given their first performance by Karel Solc in Prague, at a concert organized by the Pritomnost Society.
October 25 - The premiere receives a rave review from Bohuslav Vomacka in Lidove noviny.
November 7 - Another review praising the piano pieces is printed in Tempo. The same issue also features a rave review of the radio broadcast of her Piano Concerto.
November - Apple from the Lap is broadcast by Prague Radio.
November 21 - Ruce / Hands [Navzdy / For Ever, op. 12]
November 30 - Little Song is published by Melantrich-Pazdirek in Moravsti skladatele mladezi - a collection of piano compositions for children.
December 4 - Kapralova receives a letter from Ochranny svaz autorsky (the composers' rights organization) informing her that her application for membership has been approved.
December 15 - Lullaby is printed in Eva.
December 17 - Apple from the Lap is premiered by its dedicatee Masa Fleischerova and Ludvik Kundera at a concert organized by the Pritomnost Society in Prague.
December - first sketch of Potpolis [Two Choruses]
December - Bilym satkem mava kdo se louci / Waving Farewell with a White Kerchief [Vteriny / Seconds, op. 18], dedicated to Kapralova's friend Ota Vach.
December - Novorocni / New Year Carol [Seconds]
1937
January 1 - New Year Carol is published by Melantrich.
January 4 - Vitezslava begins orchestrating her Military Sinfonietta.
January 24 - on Kapralova's birthday - Bohuslav Martinu finishes his operatic masterpiece Julietta. The opera is to have a very special meaning for both Martinu and Kapralova.²¹ The two have yet to meet...
February 12 - Cim je muj zal / What Is My Sorrow [For Ever]
February 13 - Navzdy / Forever [For Ever], dedicated to a family friend Milada Kunderova.
February 14 - Ostinato Fox, dedicated to Jirinka Cernusakova, Kapralova's friend and daughter of Brno musicologist Gracian Cernusak
February 26 - Vitezslava finishes orchestration of her Military Sinfonietta.
March - Martinu arrives in Czechoslovakia to begin preparations with Talich for the premiere of Julietta at the National Theatre in Prague.
March 5 - Velikonoce / Easter [Seconds], dedicated to Gracian Cernusak.
March 11 - Jarni popevek / Spring Tune, Prvni bol / First Sorrow. [Tri klavirni skladbicky pro deti / Three Piano Pieces for Children]. Dedicated to Mila Ruzickova.
March 26 - Leta mlci leta jdou / The Years Pass in Silence [Seconds], dedicated to Vaclav Kapral.
March 28 - Easter is printed in Lidove noviny.
March 31 - The National Women's Council wants to program a work by a Czech woman composer at their annual gala concert - Novak recommends Kapralova's Military Sinfonietta.²²
April 2 - Kapralova meets Dr. Jan Loewenbach²³ at Spolecensky klub in Prague.
April 4 - Ukolebavka / Lullaby [Three Piano Pieces for Children], dedicated to Prof. R. Sichova.
April 8 - Kapralova meets composer Miloslav Kabelac.
April 8 - Kapralova and Martinu meet in Prague. Martinu advises Kapralova to continue her postgraduate studies in Paris.
April 15 - Kapralova begins composing the first of the four Dubnova preludia / April Preludes, op. 13.
May 3 - Second April Prelude
May 4 - Kapralova meets composer Isa Krejci and music writer Vaclav Holzknecht.
May 11 - Third April Prelude. Kapralova meets Rafael Kubelik.
May 31 - Spring Tune and First Sorrow [Three Piano Pieces for Children] are premiered at the Smetana Museum in Prague.
June 3 - Sbohem a satecek / Waving Farewell, op. 14, for voice and piano, dedicated to Prague.
June 8 - Kapralova applies for a French government scholarship so that she can continue with her studies in France.
June 11 - Kapralova meets Otakar Jeremias, conductor of the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra.
June 16 - Last class with Novak. Kapralova writes to Otakar Sourek asking him to support her application for the French scholarship.²⁴
June 19 - Waving Farewell is premiered by Jarmila Vavrdova and the composer at the Victoria College in Prague.
June 26 - Kapralova graduates with distinction from the Prague Conservatory.²⁵
Summer - Kapralova spends most of her summer holidays in her beloved village of Tri Studne, making one-day trips to Luhacovice, Uhersky Brod, Javorina, Zlin, and Trencianske Teplice, often in the company of her father.
September 12 - Vitezslava finishes April Preludes, op. 13 and dedicates them to Rudolf Firkusny.
September 14 - Tomas Garrigue Masaryk, Czechoslovakia's first president, dies. In his memory, Vitezslava composes piano interlude Posmrtna variace / Posthumous Variation [Seconds].
September 16 - Kapralova receives a letter from Sourek in which he informs her that her scholarship application has been approved.²⁶
September 18 - Posthumous Variation is printed in Lidove noviny.
October 3 - Forever is given its radio premiere in Prague.
October 5 - April Preludes are premiered by Dana Setkova at a concert organized by the Pritomnost Society in Prague.²⁷
October 9 - Kapralova receives a one-year scholarship to study at the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris.
October 15 - Radio broadcast of Three Pieces for Piano, op. 9, performed by Ludvik Kundera.
October 28 - Kapralova arrives in Paris.
October 30 - Kapralova meets with Martinu in Le Dôme café in Paris.
November 4 - First conducting class with Charles Munch.
November 8 - Kapralova is introduced to Florent Schmitt, Darius Milhaud and Arthur Honegger at Triton in Paris.
November 9 - Forever is premiered by Jarmila Vavrdova and Frantisek Vrana [pf] at a concert of Umelecka Beseda in Prague.
November 22 - Kapralova departs for Prague to conduct her Military Sinfonietta at a concert organized by the National Women's Council.
November 26 - Kapralova conducts the Czech Philharmonic in her Military Sinfonietta at the concert organized by the National Women's Council, under the patronage of Edvard Benes, President of the Republic, in Lucerna Hall in Prague. ²⁸ After the concert, she celebrates her success with a group of friends at the home of Karel Ancerl.²⁸
November 28 - The Military Sinfonietta receives favourable reviews in Lidove noviny (Bohuslav Vomacka) and Venkov (Otakar Sourek).
November 28 - Kapralova returns to Paris.
November 30 - Another review of the Military Sinfonietta is printed in Ceske slovo.
December 1 - Kapralova begins to compose her four-part ballad-cantata Ilena, op.15.
December 10 - Rodny kraj / Native Region [Seconds]
December 10 - Kapralova drafts the first part of Ilena.
December 14 - Koleda / Carol "V trni vrabce cvirikaju" ("Sparrows chirp in thorny bushes") for voice and piano
December 17 - A review of the premiere of the Military Sinfonietta, praising Kapralova's conducting performance, is printed in Tempo.
December 18 - Kapralova starts working on a trio for oboe, clarinet and bassoon.
December - Vanocni prani / Christmas Wishes, six miniatures for piano
December 24 - Carol is published in Lidove Noviny.
December - final version of Potpolis
December 26 - Firkusny informs Kapralova that her Military Sinfonietta will be presented at the ISCM Festival in London.
December 29 - Alois Haba (a member of the ISCM Festival jury which also included Ernest Ansermet, Johan Bentzon, Adrian Boult, and Darius Milhaud) confirms that Vitezslava is one of the four finalists (besides Isa Krejci, Vaclav Bartos and Viktor Ullmann) who are to represent Czechoslovak contemporary music at the upcoming ISCM Festival in London. Her sinfonietta is to open the festival.

Notes:
¹ In a curriculum vitae of Vitezslava, written for musicologist Jaroslav Buzga of the National Museum in Prague, Viktorie Kapralova mentions that Vitezslava was born with "steel blue eyes and curly hair of chestnut colour."
² Viktorie Kapralova, née Uhlirova, [Medlanky 2.6.1890 - Brno 21.12.1973], was a classically trained singer. Before War World I, she had studied voice with M. Kollarova in Brno and after the war, in 1919, with Kristina Morfova, soloist of the National Theatre in Prague. Viktorie was even invited to audition for Kovarovic, Music Director of the National Theatre in Prague, but did not take the exam, allegedly for health reasons. She later passed a state examination to become a voice teacher, however, and was able to help her husband build his private music school. [Viktorie Kapralova's curriculum vitae. Submitted with her application for financial support to the Czech Music Fund in 1960.]
³ During the three war years that Viktorie and Vitezslava spent together in Medlanky, Viktorie would often sing to the child, accompanying herself on piano. Perhaps it was these early memories that instilled in Kapralova her life-long passion for art song. [Ibid.]
Vitezslava's maternal grandfather was Antonin Uhlir, her grandmother Viktorie Uhlirova, née Bartosova. Her mother Viktoria had three siblings: Frantisek (father of Kapralova's cousins Kamil and Vera. The latter was a year older than Vitezslava, was also musically gifted, and was to play a role in Vitezslava's life); Antonin (who had two daughters - Ludmila and Antonie); and Marie (who did not have any children). [Interview with Mrs. Antonie Kolevova, née Uhlirova.]
⁴ Curriculum vitae of Vitezslava written by Viktorie Kapralova for Jaroslav Buzga.
⁵ Viktorie Kapralova's curriculum vitae, written for the Czech Music Fund.
⁶ Otylka was the inspiration behind his song cycle Pro ni (For Her) of 1927. The songs of the cycle, composed for voice, piano, and three violins, are connected by a motif of a falling major second (B-A). Ten years later, Kapralova would base her most important art song Sbohem a satecek (Waving Farewell) on the same descending second. [Ludvik Kundera, Vaclav Kapral (Brno: Blok 1968), 76.]
⁷ Ibid., p.34.
⁸ Officially, Vitezslava was sent to the sanatorium to improve her fragile health. Her stay there, however, coincided with the aftermath of her parents' separation which may have been the primary reason for Vitezslava's two prolonged stays at the sanatorium during the period. There has been speculation as to whether Kapralova's reportedly fragile health during childhood eventually led to her premature death, allegedly from a form of tuberculosis. Yet, some of her contemporaries would remember Kapralova as an energetic girl full of life who was hardly ever ill.
⁹ Kancelar Presidenta republiky, cj. D 340/26. V Praze, dne 20. ledna 1926. Slecna Vitezslava Kapralova, zacka obecne skoly v Kralove Poli. "Venovanim svych skladeb zpusobila jste panu presidentu republiky radost. Potesilo zvlaste, ze cetba vaznych del jako jsou Dejiny naseho naroda, vyvolala u Vas jiz v rannim [sic!] veku ohlas, ktery jste snazila se vyjadriti hudbou. K prikazu [sic!] pana presidenta dekuje Vam podepsana kancelar srdecne za Vasi pozornost a preje Vam hojne zdaru v dalsim studiu hudby a jeji skladby. Kancelar Presidenta republiky." Translation: Dated in Prague on January 20, 1926. Office of the President of the Republic. To: Miss Vitezslava Kapralova, pupil of the Elementary School in Kralovo Pole. This is to inform you that the President is delighted to have your compositions dedicated to him. He feels it is particularly commendable that in your tender years, a serious book such as 'The History of our Nation', had inspired you to express your feelings in music. On behalf of the President, the undersigned Office thank you for your kind thought, and wishes you all the best in your future studies of music and composition. Stamp: Office of the President of the Republic. Signature. Translation by © Leda Hatrick. The letter provided courtesy of the Kapralova Estate.
¹⁰ Kapral's motives were likely protective, as he must have realized how difficult it would be for a woman to succeed in these two entirely male-dominated disciplines. He did, however, believe in his daughter's talent and in due course became her great supporter and agent, dedicating the last years of his life to preserving and promoting her music.
¹¹ The Brno Conservatory annual report for 1930-31 shows that four students enrolled in the double major program in composition and conducting: Kapralova, Lustig, Vach, and Weigl. A year later, only two of them - Kapralova and Weigl - progressed to the 1931-32 class; and Kapralova alone finished the last year (1934-35). The other two classmates who studied composition with Petrzelka, Frantisek Vrana and Milos Sokola, entered the Conservatory a year earlier and their major specialization was in performance - Vrana studied piano and organ, Sokola the violin.
¹² Ota Vach was Kapralova's first love - they began their relationship in the late fall of 1930 and continued dating on and off up until 1938. It was Vach who in 1946 arranged for the exhumation of Kapralova's remains, their cremation in Paris, and the return of her ashes to her homeland. He remained loyal to Kapralova and never married; yet, he failed to understand her artistic personality and the earnestness of her commitment to serious music. He was determined to steer her towards a career in commercial music, although she detested it to the point that she once wrote to him in a letter from France: "I kdyby mne zaskocila doba, kdyby mne vsechno zaskocilo, nic mne nevyvrati a neodvrati od vytcene cesty. Ja o vase 'uzitkove konce' nestojim, u mne neprichazeji v uvahu, jako nikdy neprichazely u poradneho muzikanta. Muzikant je na to moc idealisticky, az hloupe prosty - ale statecny." / Even if the times worked against me, if everything tried to stop me, nothing will uproot me and steer me away from my path. I don't care for your 'utility ends'; they are not for me and I would not consider them as no truly committed musician would. Such a musician is too idealistic - almost simple - but courageous. Translation: © Karla Hartl. This excerpt from an undated letter is quoted in a draft lecture written by music historian and writer Lenka Vojtiskova for the Brno Radio at the occasion of Kapralova's second burial in Brno in June 1949.
¹³ I am indebted to Dana Neprasova of OSA (The Authors' Rights Association) for providing me with this information. A copy of the letter is in the OSA Archives in Prague.
¹⁴ Frantisek Neumann (1874-1929), Czech conductor and composer. In 1919, he was appointed chief conductor of the Brno Opera and in 1925 he took over the directorship of Brno's National Theatre. He also taught at the Brno Conservatory (one of his students was Zdenek Chalabala, Kapralova's teacher).
¹⁵ Vaclav Kapral's letter to Emil Axman, dated 24.9.1935 [the letter is deposited in the Moravian Museum archives, Fond Vaclav Kapral].
¹⁶ Tempo was a music journal published by HMUB, the foremost publisher of sheet music in Czechoslovakia (active during 1907-1949).
¹⁷ Pritomnost was a society for contemporary music, based in Prague. The organization operated between 1924-1949 and it was revived in 1991.
¹⁸ According to Kapralova's biographer Jiri Macek, Kapralova had sketched the entire composition during summer 1935 and brought its score to Novak's class only for a final review [Macek, 1958, p. 62].
¹⁹ Yet, judging from Kapralova's letter to her parents written in June, it is clear that her health was not deteriorating in any way. It is likely that this was one of the "health prevention" stays, still popular with the middle class that liked to visit spas and sanatoria "to recover one's strength". [The letter was provided courtesy of the Kapralova Estate.]
²⁰ This was in fact the concerto's world premiere, since Kapralova's graduation concert just "sampled" the work by featuring its first movement.
²¹ Some writers [e.g. Brian Large, Martinu (London: Duckworth 1975), p. 70 and Matthew Boyden, Opera: The Rough Guide (London: Rough Guides, 1997), p. 441] have implied that the work was inspired by Martinu's love affair with Kapralova. Although Julietta did have a very special meaning for both Martinu and Kapralova, as it seemed to anticipate their love relationship, the two met only after Martinu finished the opera. Interestingly, Martinu was not the only Czech composer inspired by Neveux's text. In 1933-34, three years before Martinu set to the task, Theodor Schaefer composed on the text a three-part melodrama Julie a snar. [Natasa Honzikova, Theodor Schaefer, March 24, 2004, http://www.kapralova.org/TheodorSchaefer.pdf, (July 22, 2006)]. For an interesting article by Erik Entwistle on the symbolic use of the Julietta theme in both Martinu's and Kapralova's music, download this free issue of the Kapralova Society Journal.
²² The premiere's interesting history has been captured in the minutes of the Council's Board meetings kept at the National Archives in Prague (under sign. "Zenska narodni rada 1923-1940, c.fondu 627").
²³ Jan Loewenbach [1880-1972] was music writer and libretist of Martinu's opera The Soldier and the Dancer. Between 1941 and 1945 he lived in the United States, and after a brief return to Czechoslovakia, he resettled in New York in 1948, where he continued to write studies, critical articles and commentaries on Czech music and musicians. He was a devoted promoter of the music of Bohuslav Martinu.
²⁴ Otakar Sourek (1883-1956) was a music writer, editor, and critic, and an influential personality in the musical life of Prague. I am indebted to Alan Houtchens for providing me with copies of the correspondence between Sourek and Kapralova. The originals are now presumed lost.
²⁵ Kapralova's performance was evaluated by a committee that was chaired by Vilem Kurz and included Vitezslav Novak, Ladislav Zelenka, J. Herman, J. Kocian, Jaroslav Kricka, Karel Hoffmeister, and Jan Branberger as members. Their assessment reads as follows: "Ve vsech hudebnich projevech slecny Vitezslavy Kapralove hlasi se ke slovu mladi, kypici zivym temperamentem a tvurci odvahou. Majic svezi invenci a peknou komposicni techniku, pracovala slecna Kapralova lehce, ne vsak povrchne, s pozoruhodnym zdarem ve skladbe klavirni, pisnove, komorni i orchestralni. Prekvapila osobitym rozlustenim problemu ciaccony a ucelenou stavbou symfoniety. Jeji rozhodne nadani opravnuje k nejlepsim nadejim." / All of Kapralova's work is imbued with youth, overflowing with lively temperament and creative daring. Possessing fresh inventiveness and a fine compositional technique, Kapralova worked easily, but not shallowly, in all genres of composition - piano, voice, chamber music, and orchestra. She surprised all by her individualistic solution to the problem of the chaconne and by the unified structure of the sinfonietta. Her marked talent justifies hopes for the brightest future. (English translation by Leda Hatrick, 2004)
²⁶ See note 17. For a detailed account of correspondence between Kapralova and Sourek, download this free issue of the Kapralova Society Journal.
²⁷ She made the dedication in an explicit hope that he would premiere them. Firkusny, however, failed to recognize their qualities at the time, and it was only three years later, on January 28, 1940 in Paris, that he performed the composition. The preludes were an instant success with both the audience and the critics.
²⁸ The concert program listed Dvorak's overture to his opera Selma sedlak, followed by Kapralova's Military Sinfonietta (before the intermission), and finishing with Suk's Asrael. Interestingly, despite Vaclav Talich's name in the program, it was Karel Boleslav Jirak who conducted the works by Dvorak and Suk. Jirak was brought in to save the event only 2 days before it took place, for Talich had suddenly resigned from the project, allegedly in a protest over the lack of rehearsals afforded to him by the orchestra's management [from Kapralova's undated draft letter to Senator Plaminkova and the minutes of the National Women's Council Board meeting from November 25, 1937].
²⁹ In his autobiography, Jiri Mucha (Mucha, 1989, p.118-120) claims that Kapralova's parents took no interest in the premiere (he in fact accuses them, throughout the book, of showing little support for Kapralova's musical endeavours in general). This assumption, based on information provided to Mucha by one of Kapralova's cousins, is unfounded; however, as it has since been repeated by Czech music historians (e.g. Pavova, 2006), I would like to correct this error by quoting from the correspondence between Otakar Sourek and Vaclav Kapral. In his undated letter to Sourek (probably from around November 30, 1937), Kapral writes: "Vazeny pane inzenyre, velmi krasne jste psal o Vitulce. Dekujeme Vam za to. Byval bych rad si s Vami jeste pohovoril. Ale ja sam take nemel jsem mnoho casu a ani jsem se nemohl s Vitulkou rozloucit, bezel jsem na vlak, nebot jsem mel rano vyucovani." / [..] we thank you very much for writing so beautifully about Vitulka. I would have also liked to talk to you more but I, myself, did not have much time. I could not even say goodbye to Vitulka because I had to run to catch my train, so that I could give lessons the next morning. It is possible that Kapral had already left the concert during the intermission that followed the performance of sinfonietta and that is why some of those in attendance did not notice his presence. [The letter is deposited with the Otakar Sourek Papers in the Dvorak Museum in Prague.] Throughout Kapralova's career, Kapral invariably took upon himself the business side of his daughter's career, be it her publishers, performers, or journalists. This devotion to his daughter's affairs only increased with age so that during his last years he made this touching statement to his wife (in a letter dated June 5, 1946): "Vzal jsem si za svou povinnost postarat se o vsechny veci tykajici se Vitulky, at mne stoji cokoliv, ponevadz Vitulka mi byla a je a bude vzdy hlavnim smyslem zbytku meho zivota ..."/ ... I took it as my sole responsibility to take care of all matters that concern Vitulka, whatever the cost, because Vitulka was, has been, and always will be the main reason for living the remainder of my days, the meaning of the life that I still have... [the letter was provided courtesy of the Kapralova Estate].

© Karla Hartl, 1998-2007. This chronology is based on my comparative research of available Kapralova autographs, correspondence, personal documents, diaries, notebooks, and published monographs. Other sources of research information are acknowledged in detail above.

[ continue with part 2 of the chronology ]

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